Best Android Calculator Apps

The Samsung Galaxy S, Droid X, MyTouch 3G Slide, Evo 4, the list goes on and on. Many of the hottest smartphones on the market today run on Google’s Android OS. With each new device released for Android, the buzz about the system grows.

A quick search of “calculator” on the Android Market returned about a thousand results, far than most people would like to sort through. You’ll find dozens of tip calculators, BMI calculators, mortgage calculators, love calculators, and more that are probably not what you are looking for. Luckily for you, I’ve done the hard work of searching through all of those apps for you and found these 6 worthy of your consideration.

#1–HandyCalc Calculator by mmin

HandyCalc Calculator is my choice for the top calculator available on Android today. This app give you a lot of the basic functionality of a TI-84, including all scientific calculator capabilities, graphing, and the ability to solve systems of equations. Answers can be returned in fraction and radical form or converted to decimals. There are also simple copy and paste capabilities, something that should be available in more apps. The app even comes with a demo doc and a link to a video tutorial. There’s a lot to like here, and even if it’s not perfect, it comes as close as anything I’ve seen.

Pros: Free, scientific and graphing capabilities, solves systems of equations, returns both exact answers for fractions/radicals as well as decimal approximations.

Cons: Missing features of a typical grapher such as max/min, intercepts, etc.; swiping between keypads presses buttons and feels awkward; two different “equals” buttons (which perform different functions) can be a bit confusing.

Scientific Calculator had the nicest UI of any calculator app I reviewed. Buttons are attractive, with a nice top-lit effect, and a good size, making them easy to press. A flick scroll or double arrow button allows you to easily access scientific functions. The calculator does feature some basic graphing capabilities. This calculator comes very close to 2-line functionality. You can enter an entire calculation before pressing enter. Then you can return to previous calculations by long pressing the input area. There are more powerful apps on this list, but UI is important in an Android app, and Scientific Calculator has a great one.

Pros: Free, attractive UI, some functionality of a 2-line calculator, some graphing functionality

Cons: Graphing functions limited; comments in the market indicate some users confused by lack of +/- button, although I found this easy to work around.

A fantastic calculator app for calculus students is Calculus Tools. As its name implies, this app is focused almost exclusively on calculus, so it’s not for everyone. The app can find integrals as well derivatives up to the fourth degree, both algebraically as well as with with defined limits. It also has the ability to help you solve problems involving arc length, surface area, and Taylor series. Your results can also be graphed. The app also contains a pretty extensive list of formulas that calculus students have to memorize. The only real drawbacks with this app are that its scientific calculator mode is still in beta and fairly limited, and that all inputing must be done with your default keyboard.

Arity Calculator has a far different UI and capabilities from the other apps on this list. If you are looking for a good 3D grapher, this is it. You have the option to graph in either 2D or 3D, and simply pressing enter will take you to a clear prompt but will save your equation where it can easily be tapped if you need it later. I’d find it hard to recommend this calculator to a novice, but it’s sharp 3D features will definitely appeal to many users. Arity is also an open source app.

Pros: Free, open source, fast, 3D capabilities, screenshots of graphs

Cons: Almost all commands (such as sin, cos, tan) have to be typed out; although you can navigate graphs and zoom in and out, there is no way to trace, find intercepts, etc.

If you’re looking for something comparable to a TI-30 (one line), the RealCalc Scientific Calc fits the bill. It’s free, fast, and offers all the functionality of a standard scientific calculator. It also features an excellent help menu for new users. The UI isn’t exactly the sexiest, but I am sure some will appreciate how much it authentically looks like a retro calculator. Although I’d have preferred to see an authentic two line display, the developer has provided a previous answer feature, which can be set to retrieve numerous previous results.

Like many Android apps, Calc+ is available both in free and paid versions. The free version gets you the features you expect in a scientific calculator. The paid version offers the additional functionality of haptic feedback (vibrate) and unit conversions. In a clever UI decision the developer allows users to switch between a simple calculator and scientific mode by rotating rotating from portrait to landscape mode. The design is minimalistic, yet attractive. The biggest drawback to Calc+ is no ability to change from its default mode of radians into degrees.

6 Responses to Best Android Calculator Apps

Lucas-
Very nice write up and video. I really like your site, and I hope its a big success!
I do have a math keyboard bundled with the software. It's a full replacement keyboard (like Sywpe or Better Keyboard) and can be used in any application by enabling it in Settings >> Language and Keyboard. It's not quite as user-friendly as the other Calculators you have listed, but since my application is not a traditional calculator, I did not want to devote as much screen space to keyboard.
Anyhow, you have a lot of good information on this site for how new it is. Keep up the good work!
-Andy Mc (Calculus Tools)

Thanks for the feedback, Andy. Calculus Tools is a great app, and it's wonderful how active you've been with updates. Even though it's not a traditional calculator, it was way too valuable to be left off of this list.

Found this site through Google, while looking for a calculator app for my new htc Desire. The stock calculator does not have %. Your site and reviews are very well done. Thanks to your site, I've downloaded Calc+ and will probably upgrade to the paid version for the conversions features. Thanks!

Glad you enjoyed the article Ann. If you’re an Android fan, keep an eye on the site. We got access to Google App Inventor recently and are planning to do an article on it sometime in the next few weeks.

Tonys,
The HandyCalc site does have some people with specific phones or from specific countries complaining about that. The consensus seems to be if you go to http://www.appbrain.com, you can download from there. You might even be able to do it with the appbrain app.

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